The present invention relates to supports for cables, wires, tubing, conduit, or the like, and more particularly pertains to fasteners for holding cables, wires, tubing, conduit or the like, in position in their extension or run adjacent and along ceilings, walls, and other surfaces and structures.
A number of factors must be considered in running, hanging or extending cables, conduit, tubing, electrical wiring, or the like in residential, commercial, automotive, and industrial settings. A foremost consideration is from what type of structure or surface are the supports for the wires to be pendent from or attached to. Structures and surfaces may be of stone, metal, concrete, wood, or girders and beams of iron, such as I-beams, or the like. For some of these structures and surfaces, it may not be desirable, practical or even possible to drill or infix the wire supports in position with nails or studs; each application will necessitate a specific method or technique for mounting the wire supports to the given structure or surface.
In addition, the location through which the wires or cables are to be extended and the wire supports mounted must also be considered. Running electrical wiring from a main junction box to a game room in a residential dwelling is quite different from running conduit and cable throughout a commercial department store or machine shop. Also, the span or area through which the wires or cables are to be run must be considered: running electrical wiring and cables horizontally along the ceiling of a warehouse presents fewer impediments than running electrical wiring and cable from a basement entrance box to the various floors of a renovated multi-story apartment dwelling wherein the wiring and cable must navigate through and around all manner of objects and hindrances from outmoded wiring and firewalls to old heating, water and ventilation pipes and plumbing. Furthermore, electrical wiring and cable come in different diameters or gauges, and in a given application it may be efficient and economical to stack wiring and cables of different gauges. Therefore, the fasteners need to include apertures of different diameters or gauges to receive and accommodate the various sizes of wire or cables, and preferably the fasteners should include features that allow for the stacking of the fasteners.
In view of the above considerations and problems, the prior art discloses a number of designs and configurations for supports, clamps, and clips for supporting wiring, conduit and cable in their extension or run along walls or pendent from ceilings.
For example, the Waide patent (U.S. Pat. No. 1,971,396) discloses a disc capable of being affixed to the wall of a cabinet by cementitious material, the disc having an aperture for receiving a screw bolt to which fixtures can be mounted or on which they can be supported.
The Levine et al. patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,995) discloses a catheter clamp that includes an adjustable jaw mounted on a circular base by a post for holding the catheter, and the base being affixed to the patient by an adhesive applied to the lower surface of the base.
The Newcomer et al. patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,318) discloses a clip body that mounts to the sidewall of a stud by various means such as by staples or nails, and from which clips project for receiving and holding therein different forms of wiring.
The Theon patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,484) discloses a clamp for supporting cables and which includes a pair of laterally depending latching hooks, with the latching hooks of one clamp capable of interlocking with the latching hooks of a clamp disposed immediately above or below for stacking and locking the clamps together.
The Market patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,509) discloses wire holding straps that are stackable one upon the other with the legs of one strap including serrated prongs that are inserted into the upwardly open bores of a subjacent strap for interlocking the straps to each other.
The Michael patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,497) discloses a wire holding strip that includes an elongated base having a plurality of unshaped hooks spaced therealong with each hook capable of receiving and holding therein one wire.
The Gretz patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,813) discloses cable supports that are stackable one on top of another wherein each cable support includes opposed legs that have screw holes extending therethrough so that the screw holes of one support can be aligned with the screw holes of subjacent or superjacent cable supports.
Nonetheless, there remains the need for a fastener that can accommodate cables or wires or other elongated types of material of different sizes or gauges, can be affixed or mounted to surfaces, ceilings, and walls by various techniques, and includes features that prevent the fastener from working free of anchors that mount the fastener to the particular surface, ceiling or wall.